* The Games: The Ferris State University men's basketball team will be at home for the first time in 2011-12 regular-season play on Tuesday (Nov. 22) as the Bulldogs host Olivet at 7 p.m. (ET) inside Jim Wink Arena. FSU then hosts Wisconsin-Parkside in regional play on Saturday (Nov. 26) at 3 p.m. (ET).

* Ticket Info: Ferris State home basketball tickets are sold on gameday at Wink Arena and are $7 for adults or $5 for FSU faculty/staff, senior (ages 65+) and students K-12. Current FSU students are admitted free by showing a valid student ID card. For more ticket info, please call the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888 or visit the official FSU website at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

* Media Coverage: Both games will be carried live by Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network. The "Meijer Pregame Show" starts one-half hour prior to tipoff and the broadcast is also accessible online at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com. A live pay-per-view video webcast and live internet statistics will also be offered for both games.

* Follow On Twitter/Facebook: In addition to internet coverage, Bulldog fans can also follow Saturday's contest and all other FSU games this year via Twitter and Facebook. Please visit www.facebook.com/ferrisathletics or www.twitter.com/ferrisathletics to follow the posts and tweet-by-tweet coverage with periodic scoring updates.

* About FSU: Ferris State University is a NCAA Division II member school located in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs are a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Big Rapids is located in West Michigan approximately 60 miles north of Grand Rapids or 40 miles west of Mount Pleasant, Mich. FSU plays NCAA Division I men's ice hockey in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA).

* Last Season: Ferris State concluded the 2010-11 season by reaching the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen and the Midwest Regional Championship Game in Louisville, Ky. The Bulldogs also captured the GLIAC North Division Championship and hosted the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals/Finals a year ago while finishing with a 24-8 overall record. FSU must replace four key starters this campaign from a team that fell to eventual D2 national champion Bellarmine in the regional finals.

* Last Time Out: The Bulldogs dropped a 62-44 regional road decision at Lewis (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 19) in Romeoville, Ill. The Flyers held FSU to only 26.9% shooting for the game as FSU did not make a field goal in the first 10 minutes of the contest. LU led 26-15 at halftime and outscored the Bulldogs 36-29 over the final 20 minutes to record the victory.

* The Records:Ferris State (0-3, 0-0 GLIAC) won 16 of its last 19 games a year ago, including 18 of its last 22 overall en route to a 24-8 overall mark. The Bulldogs won the GLIAC North Division Championship with a 16-3 record and served as the host for the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals & Finals. FSU was 1-2 in exhibition play this season.

Olivet (0-3, 0-0 MIAA) is still searching for its first win this season heading into Tuesday's matchup. The Comets posted a 13-13 mark a season ago and were 8-6 in the MIAA.

Wisconsin-Parkside (3-0, 0-0 GLVC) is unbeaten heading into a Tuesday (Nov. 22) matchup at Michigan Tech. The Rangers were 9-18 last year and 6-12 in GLVC play.

* The Coaches:Ferris State – Bill Sall (Calvin, 1994), 10th season, 144-132 (.522) – (2-0 vs. Olivet, 1-0 vs. UWP). Sall was a two-time NCAA Division III All-American at Calvin College from 1985-90 and previously held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02). He served as FSU's interim coach for a brief portion of the 1995-96 season.

Olivet – Gene Gifford, (5th season at Olivet). Gifford is midst his fifth season at Olivet after formerly serving as the head coach at Muskegon Community College since 1981. He also has coaching experience in a variety of positions at Alma College along with Muskegon Oakridge and Ravenna High Schools. He led MCC to a national runner-up finish in '90.

Wisconsin-Parkside – Luke Reigel, (9th season at UWP). Reigel has led the Rangers to their three best seasons since moving up to the NCAA-II level in the 1990's. He formerly played and was an assistant at Wisconsin-Platteville, winning national titles in both stints under Bo Ryan.

* Series History:vs. Olivet: The Bulldogs own a 15-11 all-time series' advantage against the Comets. The series dates back to 1946-47 when Olivet recorded a 61-47 triumph in the first-ever meeting. Ferris recorded a 87-76 victory in the most recent game (11/25/08) in Big Rapids. FSU has won five consecutive matchups against the Comets to date ........ vs. Wisconsin-Parkside: Ferris State holds a 12-7 all-time series' edge versus Wisconsin-Parkside following a 83-74 win last year (12/29/10) in Kenosha, Wis. That game was the first meeting since a 76-64 Bulldog win in 2000-01 at FSU's Jim Wink Arena. The series' dates all the way back to 1972-73.

* Bulldog Quick Fact: Ferris State welcomes back eight letterwinners this season from last year's NCAA Tournament squad. Included in the total is a returning starter in senior point guard Dontae Molden (Detroit/Pershing). The roster also includes eight freshmen.

* League Opener: The Bulldogs open GLIAC play on the road next week as FSU visits Tiffin on Thursday, Dec. 1, for a 8 p.m. (ET) conference tilt followed by the school's first-ever game at Ohio Dominican on Saturday, Dec. 3, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. (ET) in Columbus, Ohio.

* Great Campaign: FSU's 24-8 overall men's hoops mark last year was the program's best since posting a 24-7 record and also reaching the regional final in 2004-05. Overall, the 24 wins recorded by the Bulldogs was tied for the third-highest total in school history and FSU's 16 league regular-season victories was best in the conference and tied for the most GLIAC wins in Bulldog annals.

* GLIAC Preseason Poll: Ferris State was picked to finish third in the 2011-12 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll announced last week. Michigan Tech claimed top honors in the North Division with Grand Valley State listed second. Findlay was tabbed as the South Division favorite.

* Tough Start: FSU officially opened the 2011-12 regular-season with a pair of road losses against NCAA Division I competition. The Bulldogs fell in their season opener on Nov. 11 to the Michigan Wolverines by a 59-33 count at the renovated Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor despite trailing by only five points with 11 minutes to play. Ferris State then suffered a narrow 65-60 setback to Central Michigan the following night (Nov. 12) at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant. FSU missed its first 12 shots from the floor and trailed 18-2 to start the game before rallying back to within two points with 25 seconds left before CMU sank free throws to seal the win.

* The Exhibition Season: The Bulldogs posted a 1-2 mark in exhibition play this season. FSU fell to NCAA Division I Michigan State by a 85-58 score on Oct. 30 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. The Bulldogs bounced back to beat Grace Bible 91-78 at home (Nov. 2) before falling on the road at Calvin last Tuesday (Nov. 8) in Grand Rapids.

* First Of The Three: The Bulldogs opened the exhibition portion of their schedule with an 85-58 loss at NCAA Division I Michigan State on Oct. 30 at the Breslin Center. The Bulldogs trailed by only eight points (49-41) with 16:55 to play before the Spartans seized control. Senior forward Jerrell Sanders (Grand Rapids/Creston) and junior forward Daniel Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance) paced FSU with 14 points apiece before a crowd of 14,797 fans. Five Bulldog freshmen saw their first action in the game at the Breslin Center.

* The Bulldog Roster: Ferris' 2011-12 roster includes four seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and eight freshmen. Eight of the 16 players are primarily guards while the remaining eight are frontcourt players. Fifteen of the 16 players on the Bulldogs' roster hail from Michigan with the one exception being freshman guard Drew Lehman (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic), who started versus Michigan State.

* Head Coach Bill Sall: A 1994 Calvin graduate, 10th-year FSU head coach Bill Sall previously held assistant coaching positions at Calvin (1992-95), Ferris State (1995-98) and Hillsdale (1998-02) prior to being named Ferris State's 11th head coach. Before joining the coaching ranks, Sall was a standout player at Calvin from 1985-90. He twice (1989-90) received second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III All-America honors and led Calvin to three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) championships, four NCAA-III Tournament bids and the 1990 NCAA-III Final Four.

* Pertinent Fact: The Bulldogs' 24 victories last year were the program's most since reaching the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen with a 24-7 mark in 2004-05 and the Bulldogs' 16 league wins tied for the most in school history along with the perfect 16-0 GLIAC record recorded in 1988-89.

* Outstanding Success: Ferris' 24 victories last year tied for the program's most in the last 22 seasons along with 2004-05 when the Bulldogs reached the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen and recorded a 24-7 mark. Overall, the 24 wins tied for the program's third-most in more than 80 seasons of basketball action dating back to the 1920's.

* Going Back In Time: Last year marked the first time the Bulldogs had reached the NCAA-II Tournament, made the GLIAC Tournament Championship Game and achieved 20 wins or more all in the same season since the 1997-98 campaign.

* Back To The Dance: Ferris State head coach Bill Sall was an assistant coach under former head coach Edgar Wilson when the Bulldogs won the GLIAC Tournament for the only time in school history to reach the NCAA-II Tourney in 1997-98. Therefore, he's been involved in the last four of FSU's nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

* A Great Run: Ferris won back-to-back GLIAC North Division crowns under Bill Sall in 2003-04 and 2004-05 while also reaching the NCAA-II Tournament in both 2004-05 and 2005-06. FSU also previously advanced to the NCAA-II "Sweet Sixteen" during the 2004-05 season, which was Sall's third season at the helm.

* Tremendous Turnaround: The Bulldogs had posted only a 21-82 (.204) mark in the four seasons prior to head coach Bill Sall's arrival, but have since went 141-123 (.534) and claimed three divisional titles while making three NCAA-II Tournament appearances in his nine previous seasons at the helm. FSU won only four games (4-22) the year before Sall arrived in 2001-02.

* Returning Starter: Senior guard Dontae Molden (Detroit/Pershing) has 374 career assists to date and is listed sixth on FSU's all-time assists leaders list. The two-year starter needs 71 assists to catch Tim Herman (445; 1975-79) and move into fifth place on the Bulldogs' all-time chart. He was an All-GLIAC Defensive Team honoree last season and ranks ninth in FSU history with 136 career steals.

* All-Tourney Team: Junior guard Kenny Brown (Farmington Hills/Harrison) came alive for the Bulldogs in last year's NCAA Tournament and was recognized as an All-Tournament Team selection after helping the Bulldogs to the regional title game. Brown came off the bench to average a team second-best 19.3 points per game in three NCAA contests, including a game-high 27 points in a regional-opening win over Wayne State and 22 versus Drury (Mo.) in the semifinals.

* Key Returnee: Junior forward Daniel Sutherlin (Detroit/Renaissance) has been a valuable contributor over each of the last two seasons for the Bulldogs. The 6-5 Sutherlin has played in 59 games and made 14 starts in his FSU career. He averaged 19.9 minutes per contest a year ago.

* Welcome Back: Senior forward Jerrell Sanders (Grand Rapids/Creston) was expected to be a key contributor for the Bulldogs last year and was until suffering a season-ending knee injury only seven games into the season on a breakaway dunk. Sanders hit what appeared to be a game-winning jumper as time expired in last year's exhibition game against the Indiana Hoosiers, but the basket was waved off after a controversial replay review by the game officials. He started four games for the Bulldogs last campaign prior to his injury.

* Next Home Action: The Bulldogs' next home contest after this week will not be until Tuesday, Dec. 6, when FSU hosts Alma in non-leage play at Jim Wink Arena. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. (ET). FSU's first conference home games are on Dec. 18-19 when Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan make the trip to Big Rapids to square off against the Bulldogs prior to the Christmas holiday break.